Washington finds Keith Price is right

The Aztecs open their 2012 football campaign at Washington on Saturday, just as Eastern Washington faced the Huskies to begin last season. Back then, Washington coach Steve Sarkisian was still getting a feel for his redshirt sophomore quarterback, Keith Price.

Sarkisian kept a tight hold on the reins, and the Huskies, saved by a late interception that secured a 30-27 win, nearly stumbled in a game that most figured would be a walkover.

There will be no such conservation of energies this time around. Price has become a bona fide star, and the Huskies are determined to use all of the skills in his repertoire to begin a season for which they’ve adopted the motto, “Take the next step.”

“I know that we won’t be as conservative the first game around as we were last year,” Sarkisian, the fourth-year coach, said earlier this week. “We’ll do some things that will hopefully give us a chance to take some shots down the field.”

Sarkisian, the former offensive coordinator at USC, and Price, out of St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, have energized the Huskies and their fans with an attack that was among the most electrifying in college football last season.

Price was phenomenal in his first year as the quarterback. He set school records for touchdown passes (33), completion percentage (66.9) and passing efficiency (161.9 rating).

And if the national audience hadn’t already noticed what Price was achieving, that changed in the Alamo Bowl. Price threw for four touchdowns and ran for three, piling up 438 passing yards in outperforming Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, though the Huskies and their terrible defense still lost 67-56.

In Year 2, can Price possibly keep up the pace?

“I know we say so many times, ‘Well, how can you get better from 33 touchdowns and (66.9) completions and his efficiency?” Sarkisian said. “We’re seeing it. And we’re seeing the guys around him making big plays, and that’s what we want our offense to be. So, we’re on the right track.”

There is some solace for San Diego State and other opponents in the fact that Price does not have the same crew around him that he did a year ago. Three of last year’s top five pass catchers have graduated; projected starter James Johnson is recovering from a wrist injury; tailback Chris Polk left early for the NFL; and two-year starter and NFL prospect Colin Porter, the right guard, had to give up football because of degenerative arthritis in his shoulders.

Still dangerous for Washington are deep-threat sophomore Kasen Williams (36 catches, six touchdowns last year) and one of the best tight ends in the country, 6-feet-6 sophomore Austin Seferian-Jenkins (41 recpetions, six touchdowns).

The receivers are less experienced, but Sarkisian believes Price’s own maturity will help to bridge that gap. Price attended the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana in July and he spent hours studying film of himself.

“He’s really taking to the nuances, the final details of plays and coverages that can create big plays,” the coach said. “We saw a couple of balls thrown (in camp) down the sideline before a safety could get over the top. I don’t think he would’ve ever made that throw a year ago and maybe not even late into the season.”

What Price has never seen before is the 3-3-5 defense employed by Rocky Long’s Aztecs.

“It’s going to be fun,” Price asserted earlier this week. “They like to mix you up; they give you underlooks, overlooks, big fronts. They play with a lot of aggression.”

Price remembers well the near-flop of last year’s season opener. He doesn’t want to come close to see that happening again.

“I just know that we have to play better,” he said. “It’s not so much about opening up the playbook or whatever people are trying to say. It’s just about executing our game plan. That’s the main thing. It we do our job, we have a pretty good chance of winning.”